Brewers win one Hall of a game

27052008

Sorry…you’ll have to excuse the pun. Punning can be quite fun sometimes, but I digress.

After complaining about his demotion to a platoon role, Bill Hall gave fans a night to remember in Milwaukee. Billy came off the bench in the bottom of the ninth and delivered a clutch base hit to right. He got second base on a sacrifice bunt and had a beautiful steal of third to get in scoring position. Mike Cameron then hit a sacrifice fly to left field, which scored Billy for the winning run. Then, pandemonium in Milwaukee.

Now, I am not going to change my opinion about Bill Hall needing to be restricted to a platoon role, but tonight does prove that Billy can be quite a contributor to the team. I would love to see Bill return to his 2006 form. I would gladly be the first to admit that I was wrong and embrace Bill Hall for the player he has the potential to be. Potentiality and actuality are two different things, however.

I do not wish to dampen the joy from tonight’s win, but I do not believe Bill Hall proved he deserves to start everyday because of his heroics tonight. After all, Russell Branyan did a fine job tonight, going 1-3 with a walk. That’s a .500 OBP if you’re keeping track at home. I understand Bill is not happy, but if that anger gets channeled into Brewers wins, I’m all for it.

How about Dave Bush tonight! After struggling out of the gate and giving up two home runs in the first two innings, he pitches five straight scoreless frames to keep the Brewers in the game. The right-hander pounded the strike zone tonight, which is a very welcome sign. Milwaukee needs more outings like this from the former 12-game winner.

Struggling Brewers had a night against the Braves this evening. JJ Hardy was consistent all around and went 3-4. Perhaps the security of Jason Kendall behind him has a little something to do with that. Julian Tavarez may have not been a Brewer when he struggled this season, but he made his Milwaukee debut in a fine fashion tonight. He sat down the Braves in order in the eighth inning. Tavarez will need to put together a few more scoreless frames before I will believe he’s found his form, however.

Huge win for the Milwaukee Brewers tonight. A tip of the cap to you, Bill Hall. I may have bashed you in the past few days, but you deserve all the praise you have gotten after tonight’s game. Well done.

Records: Brewers (25-27); Braves (28-24)

Hero of the Game: Dave Bush

I had a sinking feeling in my gut after watching Dave give up two home runs in the first two innings. All signs pointed to the right-hander struggling through another outing and me pounding my fist in frustration all night. Instead of imploding after the second inning, however, Dave showed extreme maturity and resilience on the mound to pitch through the seventh without giving up anymore runs. With Braves starter Tim Hudson showing pretty good stuff tonight and frustrating the Brewers with runners in scoring position, Dave needed to keep the Braves off the board to keep Milwaukee in the game. He did that. Perhaps that’s the “bulldog mentality” Ned Yost keeps raving about. A tip of the cap to you too, Dave Bush. Well done tonight.

Goat of the Game: Jason Kendall

Jason went 0-4 tonight and left five Brewers on the basepaths. I thought he called a great game for Dave Bush and really helped him get through the game after giving up the two long balls early. It was just a rough night for Jason at the dish.

On Tap

RHP Jeff Suppan will take the mound against rookie LHP Jo-Jo Reyes. The Crew looks to secure the series win tomorrow night against the Braves starting at 7:05pm CT.

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